If you don't have the two scopes carefully balanced on the mount, they can possibly move when you insert or remove an eyepiece if the weight difference between the eyepieces is a lot and the altitude axis is not locked.

With the Universal Astronomics mount, you can set the tension high enough that the scopes don't move when you change eyepieces.

Ok so nobody has tried this setup before personally? I could just get a normal mount and put her scope on it. I just thought it would be cool to compare two different scopes with different eyepieces. The ES Twilight II mount looks sturdy and from what I have been reading is a good deal for what you get. I'll keep researching...

So what would you get? - ES 30MM 82* or ES20MM 100* I'm leaning towards the 30MM, but for $50 more you get the 100*

Oh my, you're in REAL coin flipping territory there. Both of these are fantastic eyepieces. I'd lean towards the ES 30mm 82* though because you have some smaller refractors and if you use wide-fields in smaller refractors, you will start seeing field curvature (normally the wider the field, the more field curvature). YMMV though, and others with this type scope might feel differently. Another consideration (same price as the ES 20mmm 100*) would be to get the ES 82 30mm AND the ES 68* 20mm (if you want a 20mm)--both are very highly rated.

So I was browsing Craiglist - Just got back. I picked up an older William Optics 80ED Zenithstar, WO case, and a few EP's(9mm,20mm,25mm plossl's). Talked to the seller and he seemed like a nice guy. He was selling it for a friend. I got it for great price.

I got another scope for fun now without having to worry. I'm really excited

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So I was browsing Craiglist - Just got back. I picked up an older William Optics 80ED Zenithstar, WO case, and a few EP's(9mm,20mm,25mm plossl's). Talked to the seller and he seemed like a nice guy. He was selling it for a friend. I got it for great price.

Wow, what a deal. Now your girlfriend has a scope she can use. Will you be seriously looking for a side-by-side mount now?

Funny how I was looking at dual mounts today and didn't have a second scope. I browse on craiglist with one phone call and 1 hour later I have another scope. I am one happy camper! I feel like it was ment for me. As for the mount I think it would be cool to have them side by side to see the difference in a doublet vs triplet. That or I could get the ADM plate and have them both mounted on the VX. Either way its a win.

On a side note: So thankful on top of the good deal to be writing this. A drunk driver almost hit me on the drive home. He passed me going over a 100 in the emergency lane. Passed three or four cars in the center emergency lane. Left everyone in the dust. There was a cop ahead that was going faster and left the pack of cars about 2-3 earlier. Well I got over two overpasses and the cop has his lights on. Guy wrecked as he passed the cop in the emergency lane. He had to have flipped. The SUV was mangled - door ripped off, top smashed in, guy passed out. I pulled over and after 2-3 minutes the guy woke up. Asked what happened. I told the cop what happened and that is when he said he knew cause he passed him as well the same way. Crazy!!

Anyways - I'm seriously looking at the twilight II mount now. It has gotten great reviews from what I read. Anways I'm probably going to hold off now on the 30MM 82* for a few days....lol

So I got my T adapter and hooked up the GT81 Field Flattner and the new scope focuses. Here is the setup. The tripod is overloaded, but its holding and doesn't shake unless you touch it. Have the remote so I don't have to touch. Whatcha think? Formated the SD card and going to play with settings tonight with the laptop using digicam. Not expecting anything great, but who knows....

Nikon D80 by the way - wish I bought a Canon but who knew I'd be taking pictures with a telescope 3 yrs later. Gotta research now camera settings. Any recommendations on ISO and Apeture (F)?

I do 1/1000 if I can or 1/500 but that's at f/1.7 that's when I started getting sharper pics. They would appear properly exposed but the speed helps the blur (this all non tracking mount)

Basically I've found ,do it as fast as you can cause its /we are moving faster than you think . Def timed or remote shutter release!

I haven't had a good star trails shot yet but was trying the smallest aperture I could get and as long as I could expose before overexposure.. Was doing 2-3 minutes... But I'm still learning so this is not advise I recently saw a great pro one and it was a composite of multiple short(ish) which seems a good idea to try.. Perhaps multiple exposure of the same frame! (?)

Well I'm back. Clouds rolled in early and setup anyways. This is that first time with scope and laptop. Wish I could have gotten the shot clear, but I got Orion's nebula. It was high in the sky and tripod is horrible. I know its out of focus, but best I could do with no live view. Ended up trying out the new cheap EP's. Zoomed over to Jupiter and bam...tried the 4mm plossl and was able to get it to focus and saw Jupiter and all the moons. Amazing!! Saw like 2-3 bands. That big boy is super bright. It kept moving out of the FOV and I eventually gave up after a more few times. I can not wait to get my mount and the new EP's. Anyways although the AP was a disaster I am still happy I tried. Just need to get it focused better next time. I'm going to include a picture even though it horrible, but gotta start somewhere. Thank you all for your advice I really appreciate it!! I plan to make you proud in a few weeks weather permitting.

Quick question - So I got a field flattner with my GT81 scope. I used this to screw into the T adapter on my camera. I can focus with that setup. I just picked up a 2" barlow 2X. Man is it beefy - anyways when I slide in the flattner into the barlow I can't focus anymore. I know they make extension tubes, but where does it get added? The extension tube would need another adapter to screw into the Filter threads. How is this done? What order should it be in? Ex - Camera - T Ring - Field Flatterner - Extenion tube - Barlow - Focuser? I figure if I wanted to take pictures of Jupiter I would need more magnification since I have a short scope. Any insight?